Caney Convocation Series Welcomes Lorinda Jones

The next guest in Alice Lloyd College’s Caney Convocation Series is Lorinda Jones, a music therapist and owner of Music Therapy Service of Central Kentucky. She is a nationally-recognized performer, teacher, and recording artist of the mountain dulcimer. As a member of the Kentucky Arts on Tour Directory, Jones brings the roots of American music to her audiences through the music of the mountain dulcimer and folk harp.

Jones became interested in the mountain dulcimer as a music educator in the public schools. Her first self-published books were developed as instructional and song materials for her classroom and ensembles. As she began teaching adults, she continued to arrange music to meet the needs of her students. It was during this time that she formed the Community Dulcimer Club, now an active non-profit organization striving to preserve the traditional music of Kentucky and southern Appalachia. This group is active in the community, sponsors a traditional music festival, and under Jones‘s guidance, produced two traditional music CD recordings.

Since her initial involvement with teaching dulcimer, arranging music, and leading performing ensembles, Jones has gone on to have a successful solo career, giving performances that feature the history and playing of the mountain dulcimer in Kentucky. Three of her books are published by Mel Bay Publications, five of her CD recordings of Celtic, Christmas, and Renaissance music feature the mountain dulcimer, and she is a contributing artist on both the Great Players of the Mountain Dulcimer by Michael Shull and Masters of the Mountain Dulcimer Play Christmas by Susan Trump.

Jones has taught and performed at festivals and camps across the United States, including Kentucky Music Week, Swannanoa Gathering near Asheville, NC, and Meadowlark Music Camp in Maine.

As an extension to her music therapy and dulcimers in the classroom work, she has developed a method of teaching the dulcimer to special learners and a sequential program that uses colors, numbers, and an adapted approach for success.

Jones is also a self-taught harpist. She has self-published The Folk Harp Tutor, an instructional book and CD compilation. She teaches privately and is the director of The Heartland Harp Ensemble, where she continues to arrange music for multi-level players.

She remains an active member of the Kentucky Arts on Tour Directory (a juried directory of the Kentucky Arts Council), performing for schools, Kentucky Crafted Market venues, and other local and state events. Jones also continues to appreciate and discover her musical roots through the playing of Celtic and American folk music as a performer and recording artist.

Please join us for convocation on Thursday, November 14th, at 1 PM in the Estelle Campbell Center for the Arts on the campus of Alice Lloyd College for a relaxing, informative, and enjoyable hour of traditional music.

*All biographical information appears on Ms. Jones‘s website and has been re-published here.

All events in the Caney Convocation Series are free and open to the public. The convocation series at Alice Lloyd College is partially subsidized by The Edward G. Hefter Endowment Fund. If you would like to contribute to the endowment fund for convocations, please contact Ms. Margo Sparkman, ALC’s Director of Development, Alice Lloyd College, 100 Purpose Road, Pippa Passes, KY 41844 or via e-mail at margosparkman@alc.edu.